Congressman Mark DeSaulnier and Retired Congressman George Miller, along with Contra Costa County Supervisors John Gioia and Karen Mitchoff, are joining the #OneContraCosta movement to fight the current threat of the dismantling the Affordable Care Act.The Contra Costa Health Care town hall will be held Saturday, Jan, 28 from 10:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. at First Christian Church of Concord, located at 3039 Willow Pass Road in Concord.

Mark DeSaulnier

The #OneContraCosta coalition and Contra Costa County are leading the way by creating long-term solutions for all residents, regardless of immigration status, to have access to a primary care.

Yet, thousands of Californians are at jeopardy of losing their health care coverage, which can possibly put thousands without preventative care services.

California will be affected tremendously if the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is repealed.

The state made significant investments in implementing the law successfully.

Under the ACA, the law has cut the number of uninsured residents in half, from 6.5 million in 2013 to 3.3 million in 2015; this is the largest decline of the rate of uninsured in any state.

George Miller

“Elected officials, local leaders, community members and residents’ dedication to the #Health4All fight have contributed to the statewide wins this year and we will not stop until we reach our goal of quality health care access for all,” according to a press release.

“There are too many terrible stories of individuals forced into debt due to high emergency room bills that could have been prevented by access to basic primary care.”

According to a recent report on Contra Costa CARES, the county’s primary care system for low-income residents who don’t qualify for Covered California insurance, patients with conditions such as diabetes are at high risk of worsening health status due to delayed care or poor monitoring.

The Contra Costa CARES program has enrolled more than 3,000 uninsured adults to have access to primary health care. It is worth noting that this program is Contra Costa’s first-ever system of coordinated enrollment, medical home assignment and health care reporting for undocumented adults.

“The fight continues to protect our community from the vulnerability of high medical bills and worsening health conditions.”

People are encouraged to join the dialogue of how together we can fight for our neighbor’s health.